Small loop of Galyatető in the hall of the beeches

Itinerary

• We start the route downward on the combined P and Z● markings.
• At the forest fork, we continue on the Z● marking.
• After the Werbőczy spring, we follow a forestry road running level on the Z● marking. When this turns right into the forest, stay on the unmarked dozer road!
• In the left turn of the forest road, the P▲ sign intersects; turning right here leads down to the Galyavár.
• At the rocky lookout point, we turn back and follow the P▲ signs climbing up to the peak.
• We turn left onto the hiking trail marked K and follow it to the Péter hegyese lookout.
• From the lookout, we walk on the K marking to the Galyatető Tourist Centre, then return to the parking lot.

Detailed description of the route

Galyatető in the past

Before setting off from the parking lot into the depths of the forest, it is worth reflecting on the extraordinary history of Galyatető (formerly Nagy-Galya). The word galya refers to a treeless peak. Presumably, this name emerged when logging cleared the trees, creating flowery meadows on the southeastern side. Its first building was a log shelter opened in 1894 by the Mátra Association. The shelter named after Archbishop Samassa of Eger disappeared after a few decades, then following the post-Trianon border changes, from 1924, Galya—becoming the nation's second highest massif—got a new 100-bed tourist house. Later, a lookout tower was also built. The settlement was characterized by vibrant skiing activity at that time. The longest ski slope stretched all the way to Mátraalmás, ski jumping hills were built in the Martalóc valley, and ski trails running level covered the steep slopes and peak. These latter now function as forestry tracks.

Intensive developments are signified by the luxurious Nagyszálló hotel, handed over in 1939. World War II and the following decades swept away almost everything: the shelter was demolished, and the hotel became a union holiday resort. Ski slopes disappeared during the socialist era, but in 1976, the Csór-réti reservoir, key to the area's water supply, was constructed (visible from the lookout when looking toward Mátra Saddle).

On the northern slopes

The new tourist house (Galyatető Tourist Centre) opened in 2014, offering a restaurant and various accommodation options (many other lodgings are available, including some immediately next to the Grand Hotel Galya). Next to the fantastic lookout, attracting visitors throughout winter and summer, a signpost leads among the trees. The combined P and Z● markings descend briefly along the abandoned, overgrown ski slope—still identifiable because it was cleared in the 1990s. Passing under the chairlift cable, considerable rust tells the story of this infrastructure and the fate of skiing in Galya.

Under giant trees, we reach a forward ridge trail junction, where we choose the left Z● marking. We traverse a level, slightly bushy path across the hillside, where vigorous beech provides a pleasant natural experience. The trail crosses some steep slopes where hard, blocky lava rock appears on the surface. We bypass a spring held in a retaining wall and then curve downward around a small valley head. (The somewhat drastically arranged spring was probably once supplied by a waterworks, since Galyatető’s water shortage was met before the Csór-réti reservoir by wells tapped high on the mountain.)

In the kingdom of the beeches

We reach the Werbőczy spring along the trace of an old ski slope. (It's worth making a short, just a few-minute detour right along the wide forestry road until the first curve—there is a beautiful view toward the Karancs-Medves area.) Near the overgrown enclosure stands a resting place with a board about István Werbőczy’s life. This jurist’s main work, the Tripartium or Hármaskönyv, compiling the country’s customary law, was completed in 1517. Though it had no legal force, it influenced judgment practices until the mid-19th century.

We continue on a wide forestry transport road running level along the mountainside. To the right we see into the dark hornbeam columnar hall, with rocks sometimes emerging from the ground. Beeches prefer a cool, humid climate, so they almost exclusively dominate the shaded, north-facing slopes of the Mátra. The canopy forms high up and closes densely, scarcely letting light reach the soil—this feature led to their success after the last ice age and allowed them to push out other species.

A mysterious fortress

When the marking leaves the transport road, our route continues to maintain altitude: do not turn off between the trees; stay on the unmarked path! A right turn is followed by a straight stretch, then a left turn: here the P▲ marked path joins, which we first take right. Shortly after, we cross the roots of ancient beech elders and suddenly find ourselves on a thinning, high grassy ridge section. Warmer-loving species inhabit the forest at this projecting point. We cross a trench, the only perceptible remnant of the Galyavár fortress. Little is certainly known about the fortress itself apart from it being the highest fortress site in present-day Hungary; no secure information exists about its origin, builders, or period. It was probably used in the Middle Ages since researchers believe it was fortified then. Strategically excellent, it was protected by steep slopes providing natural obstacles on three sides, requiring larger trenches only to the south. It was likely also defended by a palisade. Further down, huge andesite rocks pepper the hillside, and our path emerges onto a significant terrain staircase.

The panorama is breathtaking: the heavily forested slopes of the Western Mátra descend steeply toward the Mátralába plains, behind which the Cserhát Tepke ridge just appears. To the north, the heights of the Karancs region in Slovakia ripple (on clear days, the Plain region can be deeply seen). Though the trail's challenges and further rock formations on the slope undoubtedly call adventurers, the route urges a retreat.

Back on the trail of winter sports

We again reach the transport road on the P▲ marking, crossing it transversely this time. We reach the peak junction amid increasingly beautiful hornbeam groves—although their uniformity and straight lines impress the eye, naturally the forest would never grow this orderly. These stands are the result of plantations after clear-cutting—hence they are all of very similar age and size. On the National Blue Trail, we swing left (K marking), with no significant color change ahead. For a few meters, we tread Galyatető's streets. To the left at the forest edge stands a Székely gate, part of the Ski Federation's Cross-country Ski and Biathlon Centre. Next to the biathlon shooting range operates Hungary’s only cross-country ski terrain prepared with a snowcat.

Lookout on Péter hegyese

The Blue Trail again enters the beech forest; especially old specimens can be found along the summit promenade. After a short walk, we can see the characteristic structure of the Péter hegyese lookout tower among the trees. The lower part of this net-surrounded, prize-winning design was built in 1934, replacing an earlier wooden lookout. In 2014, its elevated version was opened, offering bivouac rooms in the upper segment for overnight stays (rentable at the nearby Galyatető Tourist Centre). From the roof terrace, we can enjoy a stunning view: the whole Northern Hungary undulates below us. Mátraalmás seems just a step away, albeit several hundred meters lower. We can survey the Mátra range, with the Kékes peak massif and the Bükk dominating the horizon to the east. On clear (especially winter) days, the distant High Tatras' jagged peaks attract attention.

From the base of the tower, the path leads to the Galyatető Tourist Centre, then the asphalt street to the parking lot.